~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
eye WEEKLY                                            November 30 1995
Toronto's arts newspaper                      .....free every Thursday
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ON STAGE                                                      ON STAGE

                               RED EMMA

Featuring Anita Krause, Sonya Gosse, Matthew Lord, Igor Emelianov,
Nathalie Paulin and Rayanne Dupuis. Score by Gary Kulesha. Libretto by
Carol Bolt. Conducted by Gary Wedow. Directed by David William. du
Maurier Theatre Centre, Harbourfront Centre. Nov. 29, 29, Dec. 1, 2,
3. $25, $40 from Harbourfront Centre box office, 973-4000

                                  by
                             ANDREW CLARK

In opera, less is not more.

Opera is all about life lived in the extreme. Huge passion,
immeasurable grief, twists of fate, glory, defeat, everlasting love,
the irrevocable finality of death -- these are the ingredients that
make opera fly, and carry us away with it.

It's up to opera's soldiers -- the singers -- to conjure these forces
out of themselves. It's an exhausting, daunting task. Opera singers
are theatrical machines, blasting away on all cylinders. Physically
and mentally, performing opera is the equivalent of competing in a
decathlon.

Red Emma, The Canadian Opera Company's latest, presents an extra set
of challenges. It's a new opera (score by Gary Kulesha, libretto by
Carol Bolt) based on Bolt's 1974 play, which focused on the life of
the influential 19th-century anarchist Emma Goldman. Goldman was sort
of a post-modern, thinking woman's Joan of Arc. She was one of those
rare individuals whose political beliefs utterly absorbed her personal
and intellectual life. An anarchist, feminist, proponent of "free
love" and activist for the eight-hour work day, Goldman is probably
most widely known for her comment "If I can't dance, I don't want to
be part of your revolution," which recognized the importance of
humanism in the anarchist movement.

Then there's Helen, Goldman's more earth-bound friend. Helen, unlike
Goldman, cannot surrender herself to her cause. She wants to be a
leader but craves domesticity -- a husband, dependency -- things that
run counter to Goldman's beliefs. In reality, most women fall
somewhere in between these two extremes. But this contrast makes Helen
and Emma a powerful dramatic pair.

So how do you sing these women?

To find out, I met weekly with Red Emma's four principle singers, all
of whom are in their mid-20s. The two casts will alternate until Dec.
3.

                           SOUNDS OF MUSIC

It's early in the rehearsal process and the atmosphere during a lunch
break is light, idealistic and uninhibited. All four singers say
they're intrigued by their characters -- those playing Emma are a
little more excited.

"She's not unlike me," says Sonya Gosse, who hails from Newfoundland.
"I have no trouble relating to Emma. Her passion, her fiery nature --
the sexual part I won't comment on."

The women see Goldman as a figure who hasn't been diminished by
history. "She was ahead of her time and she is still completely
ahead," says New Brunswicker Nathalie Paulin, who plays Helen. "She
never gave up her love of beauty."

"She saw anarchy as a way of living life" adds Rayanne Dupuis, the
other Helen, "when most people, especially men, saw it as a political
ideal."

"I think there's a little bit of Maria von Trapp in her," laughs Emma
number two, Anita Krause.

As for Helen, she hasn't charmed either Dupuis or Paulin. "She's a
follower, she doesn't have the desire," says Dupuis.

The sopranos talk about being woken in the middle of the night by a
musical passage, and of "cracking the score" to work it out. About
people telling them they "don't look like an opera singer" when they
wear jeans. And they also talk about the contrasts between Emma
Goldman's world and the world of the opera, which they perceive as
being forward-moving in the arena of women's rights.

"In the opera the soprano is Queen Bee," says Krause. "It's a
wonderful female world. There isn't that kind of gender gap. We get
treated better than the men."

She pauses a second: "I'm glad they got rid of those castratos."

                        TEARS AND SALTED WATER

"I've never had to have a cortisone injection in my neck," says Krause
several days later, a hint of dread in her voice.

By week three, Red Emma's "big-picture" dreams have blown away, and
our conversation concentrates on the practical, mechanical side of
singing and staging. The four sopranos speak of cortisone injections
(which some singers use to perform when they are severely ill), of
avoiding noise and smoke to preserve their vocal chords, and of home
remedies to ward off illness, like inhaling salt water through your
nose.

The first few run-throughs of the show have been an exercise in
frustration, they say. All four have been overwhelmed by the stress
and found themselves distracted to tears. But they don't find this
unnerving. Tears, they all tell me, are a necessary part of the
process.

"It's the biggest stretch of my life," Gosse says of her role as Emma,
which consists of five arias and several duets. "And I still haven't
sung the entire opera in one go. I want to know I can hit every note.
I'm putting the acting on the back burner."

There are plenty of external variables to work in. Not least, the
singers must begin to think about keeping an eye on the conductor. An
opera singer has to have acute peripheral vision, since the only way
to keep in time with the orchestra is by keeping in constant contact
with the conductor.

Despite these and other constraints, the characters continue to
develop. "I'm trying to put less of me in her," says Krause. "I'd like
to inject some of Emma's qualities into myself."

                              PROTECTION

By week four, the dust has settled. The panic of the previous week has
been replaced by a measured confidence. Each singer has found their
character. They've hit every note. Now they're fine-tuning their
creations, and have become very protective of the people they've
created.

"I have to get out onstage and I have to protect myself. I'm
responsible. I'm Emma. Leave me alone," says Gosse, summing up this
type of thinking. "It's funny, in a way playing Emma has got me to the
point where I can say that kind of thing."

Paulin, who initially saw Helen as a pathetic figure, has now found
some middle ground. "I've grown to think that there is a lot of Helen
in me," she says. "More than I thought at first. She's very troubled
but I've found she's a little stronger. She finds out what she wants.
She changes."

With opening night less than a week away, the singers use various
techniques to cope with the pressure and keep their vocal cords in
order. Krause walks two miles a day. Paulin finds herself poring over
her score into the wee hours of the morning.

One final hurdle will be the move into the theatre, Harbourfront's du
Maurier Theatre Centre. But compared to the past few weeks, it won't
be much of an intimidation.

"I've learned what I can do," Krause says of the weeks of rehearsal.
"I've learned to push myself further."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                           THE FOUR SOPRANOS

Rayanne Dupuis: Sudbury Born. A very shy child ("I would hide in my
room") , her parents introduced her to music to make her more
extroverted. Attended Yale University, U of T and the State University
of New York. This is her first season with the COC's ensemble.

Nathalie Paulin: Born in New Brunswick in an exclusively French-
speaking community. Started singing in the local choir before she
could read. Joined the COC's ensemble last year, and taught herself
English. Won the 1994 Montreal Symphony Orchestra Competition and was
a semi-finalist in the 1993 Young Mozart Singers' Competition.

Anita Krause: Singing soprano, though she's a mezzo-soprano. A
"Mennonite girl." Started with piano lessons, then sang gospel. Went
to Vancouver and found herself pursuing opera. A graduate of the COC's
ensemble, in 1995 she placed third in the International Mozart
Competition in Salzburg.

Sonya Gosse: Born in Newfoundland. Always wanted to sing. Attended the
University of Toronto opera division, then entered the COC's ensemble.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Retransmit freely in cyberspace        Author holds standard copyright
http://www.interlog.com/eye                     Mailing list available
theatre archives -----------> http://www.interlog.com/eye/Arts/Theatre
e...@interlog.com     "...Break the Gutenberg Lock..."     416-971-8421